Longer stay dvc question

bckwincy · Feb 12, 2016

Our family has been visiting Disney several times a year for about 8 years. In recent years our stays have increased in duration. Typically our stays are the beginning of December and Jan/Feb. We have done everything: rent dvc points, rent rooms direct from Disney, stay at Wyndham, even rent houses. As our stays increased in length, our offsite stays also increased, but now we are pretty sure we are ready to get back onsite with DVC. We usually have a party of 8, so 2BRs are needed, but what are the chances we could get a 2BR or a grand villa for an extended stay (at least 2 weeks, but 3 is also likely) anywhere aside from OKW and SSR? We are not opposed to those sites, but also like all the other resorts as well. I would not want to always have to stay at whatever home resort we choose, and I'm pretty certain I don't want a bunch of contracts at separate places. Is stringing together 2 or 3 weeks for 2br or GVs even possible past the 7 month mark? If not, we could do some split stays, but I'm not even sure how easy it is to get a full week at the 7 month, or later, mark, and I don't want to have to pack up frequently, even though Disney makes moves pretty easy.
I've seen the excellent research on studios and 1 bedrooms, but not as sure on the bigger rooms.
I wanted the veterans to give me a heads up as to whether or not longer stays work well with DVC not booked at 11 months, or if I need to plan on shorter durations being the reality. Thanks for the wealth of info you all provide!

wilma-bride · Feb 12, 2016

We are from the UK so typically stay at least 2 weeks. The only time we haven't been able to secure a 2-bedroom for the full 2 weeks has been at the 7-month point. But even then it has only been 1 or maybe 2 nights that weren't available and, because we are not opposed to split stays, that is typically how we get around it. A full week at the 7 month point would be fairly easy, however I have to say that early December is a prime DVC booking time, due to low points/Christmas decorations.

I would say it is unlikely you would have difficulty getting a week to 10 days at a time at the same resort. The difficulty would obviously be that a week is the most you can book from check-in date - the rest would have to be booked day by day.

disneynutz · Feb 12, 2016

Availability is a function of how popular the dates are, the popularity of the room size, and the number of rooms. GV's might be a challenge but 2-bedrooms shouldn't be much of an issue, especially dedicated 2- bedrooms.

:earsboy:

Bill

bckwincy · Feb 12, 2016

wilma-bride said:
We are from the UK so typically stay at least 2 weeks. The only time we haven't been able to secure a 2-bedroom for the full 2 weeks has been at the 7-month point. But even then it has only been 1 or maybe 2 nights that weren't available and, because we are not opposed to split stays, that is typically how we get around it. A full week at the 7 month point would be fairly easy, however I have to say that early December is a prime DVC booking time, due to low points/Christmas decorations.

I would say it is unlikely you would have difficulty getting a week to 10 days at a time at the same resort. The difficulty would obviously be that a week is the most you can book from check-in date - the rest would have to be booked day by day.

Thanks for this! But now another question for you, based on this: does this mean the longest stay you can book (at any point, not just the 11 month mark) is 7 days? I can't book one 2 week long reservation, but can you book 2 separate 1 week reservations? I may have missed this when reading about how to make reservations. Thanks again for the hopeful boost though! I think split stays may become our reality, and we can probably live with that.

bckwincy · Feb 12, 2016

disneynutz said:
Availability is a function of how popular the dates are, the popularity of the room size, and the number of rooms. GV's might be a challenge but 2-bedrooms shouldn't be much of an issue, especially dedicated 2- bedrooms.

Bill

I didn't think about dedicated 2 bedrooms being more available than lock-offs, though it makes sense. For us with 5 kids, and the youngest at 3, the fewer entrances/exits, the better!

disneynutz · Feb 12, 2016

DVC limits booking length to 7 nights when the booking window first opens up to give others an opportunity. IMO they also want guests to stay 7 nights or less probably based on spending patterns. On your 8th plus day, you can call MS to add another night.

:earsboy:

Bill

OutNChiTown · Feb 12, 2016

It really does depend on where it is you're looking to stay. The higher point resorts generally have better availability. Meaning, if you book at Boardwalk, you'll probably have more troubles getting exactly what you want. If you book a GV at at VGF, the entire month of September (which is our seven month window right now) has availability. People don't generally like blowing their points. As such, the higher it costs for a stay, the more likely it will become available. With that said, I've booked extended stays at OKW, BCV and AKL.

KAT4DISNEY · Feb 12, 2016

The length of your stay will likely cause the most difficulty as well as the early Dec timeframe. Jan/Feb dates will be easier and you will likely be able to move around assuming you have some flexibility in the dates. The marathon time frame in early Jan will be as difficult as early Dec and possibly the Princess marathon in Feb could cause a few issues.

For Dec it's best to assume you will be at your home resort and then anything else is a bonus. What might be very reasonable is your home resort for the first week and then availability eases up after the second weekend. AKV, SSR and OKW would end up being the most consistently available at 7 months for the 2BR's. You'll almost certainly run into days missing for GV's at BLT, VGF and Jambo and definitely BWV and OKW at 7 months. Kidani and SSR would be the most likely to not have holes in the dates.

bckwincy · Feb 20, 2016

Thank you to all for your responses! I am learning a lot and setting up some reasonable expectations for how dvc will likely play out for us. I'm pretty sure it will all be good as long as we are flexible with some moves on longer stays, and just hope to occasionally get lucky and string something longer together!

CarolMN · Feb 21, 2016

bckwincy said:
Thank you to all for your responses! I am learning a lot and setting up some reasonable expectations for how dvc will likely play out for us. I'm pretty sure it will all be good as long as we are flexible with some moves on longer stays, and just hope to occasionally get lucky and string something longer together!

You will definitely be able to get longer than 7 night stays at your home resort if you book at 11 months. Once you book the first 7 nights, you are virtually guaranteed to be able to add on more nights. You just have to call MS to do it (before the window for the extra nights you want opens for others). MS will add the nights to your existing reservation and it will appear to the resort (and MDE) as one, continuous stay .

For example, if you want to say 14 nights, 3/1/2017 through 3/15/2017:

You go online on April 1, 2016 at 8 am Eastern and book the first 7 nights. You have a reservation for 3/1/2017 - 3/8/2017. On 4/6/2016, you call MS (anytime they are open) and ask to add the nights of 3/8/2017, 3/9/2017, 3/10,2017, 3/11/2017 & 3/12/2017. Now you have a reservation for 3/1/2017 - 3/13/2017. (No one else can get those nights until 4/8/2017, when the window opens and you are getting them on 4/6/2016. As long as you call before the window opens for everyone else, you will get your extra nights). To get the last two nights you need, you call MS on April 9, 2016 and ask to add the nights of 3/13/17 & 3/14/17. Now your 14 night reservation is complete - you have one for 3/1/2017 - 3/15/2017.

The only time you might have to consider moving is if you want to stay at a non-home resort. Availability can be an issue when you are using the 7 month window.

Good luck with your decision.

Deb & Bill · Feb 21, 2016

CarolMN said:
You will definitely be able to get longer than 7 night stays at your home resort if you book at 11 months. Once you book the first 7 nights, you are virtually guaranteed to be able to add on more nights. You just have to call MS to do it (before the window for the extra nights you want opens for others). MS will add the nights to your existing reservation and it will appear to the resort (and MDE) as one, continuous stay .

For example, if you want to say 14 nights, 3/1/2017 through 3/15/2017:

You go online on April 1, 2016 at 8 am Eastern and book the first 7 nights. You have a reservation for 3/1/2017 - 3/8/2017. On 4/6/2016, you call MS (anytime they are open) and ask to add the nights of 3/8/2017, 3/9/2017, 3/10,2017, 3/11/2017 & 3/12/2017. Now you have a reservation for 3/1/2017 - 3/13/2017. (No one else can get those nights until 4/8/2017, when the window opens and you are getting them on 4/6/2016. As long as you call before the window opens for everyone else, you will get your extra nights). To get the last two nights you need, you call MS on April 9, 2016 and ask to add the nights of 3/13/17 & 3/14/17. Now your 14 night reservation is complete - you have one for 3/1/2017 - 3/15/2017.

The only time you might have to consider moving is if you want to stay at a non-home resort. Availability can be an issue when you are using the 7 month window.

Good luck with your decision.

But Carol's information doesn't work at seven months out because the owners at that resort could have already booked the extra nights you need. You'd be lucky to get seven nights in early December at seven months out. It might not be the resort you want. You might get a few nights here, a few nights there. Then you would have to try to book something else for your the rest of your stay. Same thing for early January with the marathon. You'd want to always book a stay using your home resort points at 11 months out and see if you could change it at seven months out. DVC doesn't allow you to book more than seven nights right at 11 months out for your home resort and at seven months out for a non-home resort. You have to follow Carol's advice to get a longer stay. You'd be on the phone a lot.

Personally, I wouldn't buy DVC for long trips hoping to get something for all or most of my nights in one location other than my home resort. Buy something you don't mind staying in if you can't move to another resort at seven months out.

Longer stay dvc question

bckwincy

Earning My Ears

wilma-bride

<<This space intentionally blank>>

disneynutz

DIS Veteran

bckwincy

Earning My Ears

bckwincy

Earning My Ears

disneynutz

DIS Veteran

OutNChiTown

Proposal at the Grand Floridian

KAT4DISNEY

Glad to be a test subject

bckwincy

Earning My Ears

CarolMN

DVC Co-Moderator

Deb & Bill

DVC-Trivia Contest, Apr-2006: Honorable Mention

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